Change of plans

[Kyle]

I've grown way to attached to my 20 gallon to get rid of it so i will be keeping it instead of moving it all to a bigger tank. I'm sure ill set the bigger one up too in  afew months but for now id liek to make this into a nice little nano reef.

That being said the real point of this is im ordering my fancy new light!

this is the light:
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-24quot-2-lamp-aquarium-l.html

My question is, what bulb setup should i order?

[psykokid]

1 white, 2 blue. Get the 14k for the white bulb. After having played around with 10k bulbs and getting a 14K  it makes all the difference in the world.

[Kyle]

well its a two bulb fixture so youd say 1 white and 1 blue, and then the 14k?

[RandyFolds]

The price is right on the fixture, but I personally would try and go for something with 4 bulbs for a twenty gallon. 2 won't end up cutting it...

[Kyle]

even if its a 20 long? its not very deep so i figured 2 bulbs would be fine. But you don't think it would? its only about 12 inches deep.

[psykokid]

on their site they give you a choice of what colour temp the white bulb is 10,14,or 20K..  so one white 14K bulb and one Blue

[Kyle]

thanks. psykokid whast your opinion on the two bulb? think it would be okay or go for the 4 bulb?

[psykokid]

more is better, if you can afford the 4 bulb unit or two 2 bulb units id go that route.

[Kyle]

Alright thanks for your input.

I have a question about MH lights im not sure whats what in turn of wattage. like is a 70w really gonna be that great? and how would it compare to a t5 fixture?

[psykokid]

use the t5's for the smaller tank and halides or halides + t5 on the bigger tank. The one big drawback to halides, esp on a smaller tank is that they use more electricity and generate more heat. That heat can be transferred to your tank making your temp fluctuate. The other good thing with t5's is there is alot more as far as bulb choices out there. With a multi bulb setup you can really mix and match to get the colour just right. Plus t5 bulbs are alot cheaper than a halide bulb - $15-20 bucks for t5 vs 60-80 for halide..

[Bergy]

the deeper the tank the more the light...

a metal halide will usually spread / cover an area about 24x24 and depending on wattage penetrate down to about 20 inches...  (150 will be less, and 70 even less then that)

thre is two kinds of heat to deal with, and convection is about the same with t5 and MH, ok MH is more, but MH has a tremdnously higher RADIANT heat...

it projects heat...

on a smaller tank you will need some good fans and a chiller in the summer time...

t5 gives you more color choices but that depends on the number of bulbs in the fixture.. if you have a 2 bulb fixture, your color selection is less cause yo ucan only mix two bulbs

but with mh you only get one bulb.. and it is much more expensive per bulb...

lots of pros and cons and specific issues...

[Kyle]

Thanks again guys taking all this into account i think i know what im going to buy.

I'm going to get that t5 fixture. Its a nice lamp and its modular. I can basically make it into anything i want later on. go fishneedit.com! haha

[Kyle]

I GOT AN AWESOME DEAL TODAY!!

My lfs was closed today so i decided to see if petco had my testing equipment (it didnt, no suprise) But then i was looking at lights and i see a 24" CORALIFE 130w compact fluorescent fixture with a 200 dollar price tage....under said price tag was a clearance tag for 20 dollars....... I bought it right away. Its in great shape somebody just stole the bulbs out of it everything else was still in the box and wrapped and everything! So i went on drsmithfoster.com and got a 10k dual sunlight bulb and a dual actinic bulb (both 65watts of course) FOR 55dollars shipped!!!!!!!!!!!!! making my light total 75 dollars :). Its a great fixture independent switches and power chords and cooling fans aw man i was so excited!!!


edit: they were also coralife bulbs so they weren't even cheap budget bulbs! sometimes procrastination pays off! haha

this is the light http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/aqualight-deluxe-series---double-linear-strip.php

[Bergy]

yup, patience is a virtue in this hobby... there are always deals.. so if you miss this one, there will be another one next week...

also, most bulbs are made by the same manufacturing plant, and different companies put thier names on it..

coralife dont make bulbs.. and typically thier bulbs arent 'all that'.. but they will work, and they will work well

but, keep your eyes open for other bulbs, as you willwant to replace them every year at the most...

[Kyle]

well i cant wait for the bulbs to come this week! And i ended up with a lot more wattage like you guys said. Well actually you said more bulbs but im assuming its the same effect